Day 3

For our third day we were on the waiting list for a bus tour to Munich. I really enjoy going on the bus tours because the tour guide knows little things about wherever you happen to be going-the stuff that's not in the tour books. They told us our best bet was to show and, and see if there were any no-shows, so we did. One of us could have gone, and we didn't think they were too excited about taking A.J. so we went back to our room. We looked over one of the books I had with me, and decided we were going to just go to Munich on our own. We walked to the bahnhof (train station) and got a ticket. We were able to get a family pass for 29 euro round trip. We jumped on the train and looked at my book some more. We decided we really wanted to see the glockenspiel and the Bavarian crown jewels. We thought both kids would like the glockenspiel, and that Kaitlin would really enjoy the jewels. When we arrived in Munich we pulled out the maps so we could figure out how the get to the Marienplatz where the glockenspiel was. The glockenspiel is a clock that when it strikes 11 and 12 (and during the summer months 5) shows a joust with a duke and his wife watching. There are also some people that dance. Interesting fact, the glockenspiel is located in the new Town Hall (rathaus), a building that survived the bombing and was the US headquarters in 1945. (All this info is from Rick Steve's book Germany and Austria 2007-very cool book and very interesting!) We were able to find it just as the clock struck 12. It was so very cool! Afterwards we ate lunch at the Ratskeller-in the cellar of the town hall. It was so good! A.J. and I ordered brats, and Jamie and Kaitlin were jealous. Then we headed over to the Residenz, and went through the part of the museum that held the crown jewels. The workmanship on the jewels was amazing! Afterwards we walked around Munich for a little bit and then headed back to the train. The kids were hot (yes, it was another beautiful day!)tired and thirsty. We jumped back on the train and made it back to Garmisch...and made the kids walk back to the motel, lol. They slept really well that night!

The pictures: The kids walking to the train station, the glockenspiel, just a bunch of bikes at a subway station-they were like this everywhere, and unlocked most of the time!, the Residenz, just some cool buildings downtown, the kids drinking their slushy drinks, Jamie and I on the train.